Album Review: Summer Nights EP by Hazel English

By Sofia Gualy

Music Journalist

After months of teasing new music, Hazel English dropped the EP Summer Nights, five nostalgic and dreamy songs that are sure to soundtrack this summer. Summer Nights is a dream pop paradise that fully encapsulates the harmonious ambiance of a hot summer night.

This EP explores the rocky yet exhilarating experience of a summer love. Each song delves into the intense emotions of falling in love with someone just for the summer. Full of second guessing and sneaking around, English embodies this adventure in five songs with contagious melodies.

Written alongside Day Wave’s Jackson Phillips, these songs were created throughout the pandemic and were released in June of 2022. English and Phillips met each other at a California bookstore and became close collaborators. Together they have created some of the most beautiful songs such as “Apartment Complex” off of Day Wave’s newest album, Past life.

“Nine Stories” is the first and most upbeat track on this EP. This song alludes to nine stories written by J.D Salinger. English sings about falling for someone and simply not being able to avoid it regardless of how much you try. Many people have experienced a summer love in their lifetime and English depicts the feeling of falling in a very passionate and doting manner.

The second track, “Summer Nights” follows “Nine Stories” quite nicely as another tender love song. “Summer Nights” depicts the longing feeling of wanting someone to make a move so you no longer have to hide your feelings. The repetitive guitar and soft vocals are somewhat of a motif in English’s songs. I think it helps give the tracks a more nostalgic sound that can make anyone long for a romantic gesture.

Day Wave makes an appearance in the next track “All Dressed Up”. Their harmonies meld together in a way that not many features can do. Day Wave and Hazel English have extremely similar styles of music that evoke an upbeat sense of sentimentality.

“All Dressed Up” explores the concept of doing anything and everything to get someone to notice you but they do not give you the time of day. This track depicts two different perspectives of a relationship but both sides still feel like they are coming up empty in the relationship. Accompanied by a mellow guitar and angelic vocals by English, the musicality of this song represents the longing that she sings about.

The following track, “When You’re Around” is my personal favorite out of the 5 tracks and is also the most Day Wave sounding out of all of them. You can tell that the production behind this song was very much influenced by him. “When You’re Around” explores the feeling of infatuation, a love so strong that you would do whatever the person you are seeing wants from you. English sings, “You make me feel like a school girl, I don’t know what to do with myself” which illustrates a sense of childlike admiration for someone.

The final track on the EP is a soft and warming tune to finish off the unsteady relationship of a summer fling. “Blue Light” is reminiscent of the end of a coming of age movie where everything seems to be falling into place. This song sings about a June night and the blue light that comes over someone in the moonlight. The imagery in this song makes the listener feel like they too are a part of a summer night.

Summer Nights is the perfect EP to soundtrack your final nights of summer before school starts. Hazel English reminds the listener that it is not too late to find someone and fall in love with them.

Image Credit: Photo by Hazel English